NATIONAL VIDEO

Clausen: Flowery Branch stays on top of the county's ratings

Haley leads Falcons' tough running game

At the end of week 10, all Hall County teams have played nine games and had a bye week. Region 8-AAA teams Gainesville and Johnson have play-in games, with Gainesville at White County for the region title and the top seed in the Class AAA playoffs. Johnson plays Stephens County and if the Knights win, they become a No. 4 seed.

North Hall, West Hall, Chestatee and East Hall are all out the playoffs and each finishes the season with a region crossover game.

Flowery Branch hosts Clarke Central — both teams are 9-0 — in a game we could see become a rematch down the road in the state playoffs, as both schools have dominated their opponents. The winner is Region 8-AAA champ and earns the top seed heading into the Class AAAA playoffs.

Flowery Branch, behind some great running by Jeremy Haley, jumped into to an early lead. Haley averaged over 9 yards a carry on the first drive, carrying the ball six times.

Haley’s running, aided by great offensive line play and the bend-but-don’t-break defense, showed Salem early who was boss. Haley’s running forced single coverage on the receivers, which quarterback Austin Brown took advantage of, completing passes to Logan Conley, Casey Osborne and Brody Thomas.

Headed into its matchup with No. 1-ranked Clarke Central, Flowery Branch has a slightly better power rating, 3.59 to 3.36. Clarke Central has a slightly more productive offensive average at 44.44 points to the Falcons 39.44. On defense the Falcons have a slight edge — 11 to 13.12.

Last Friday night, the Red Elephants once again dominated the West Hall Spartans in every phase of the game.

The Red Elephants ran the ball 27 times and averaged 10.78 yards per carry, while the 3-4 defense allowed only 1.4 yards per carry. Deshaun Watson completed 90percent of his pass attempts and averaged 11.73 yards per attempt. Senior wide receiver Michael Lorentz caught two TD passes early in the game and Stephen Mason caught another just at the end of the first half.

Devon Pierce, who had another big night running the ball, carried five times for 113 yards for an average of 23.20 per carry.

The Red Elephants’ pass defense completely shut down what had been a pretty good West Hall passing game, allowing only 3.41 yards per pass attempt.

Last Friday night the Trojans lost to Stephens County team in a seesaw battle, with the Indians winning 43-37 and earning a playoff spot while eliminating the Trojans. This is the first time since 2005 North Hall has not been in the playoffs.

The Trojans once again won the ground games, carrying the football 47 times for 439 yards (9.35 yards per carry), while the Trojans defense allowed 6.4 yards per carry. The Trojans have a number of good runners and behind an exceptional blocking offensive line, Imani Cross rushed 15 times for 137 yards (9.13 YPC). Just as dangerous, Mack VanGorder carried the ball 13 times for 135 yards for an average of 10.38 yards per carry.

When it came to throwing the ball, neither team had a great completion percentage, but the Indians averaged 10.78 yards per attempt and North Hall averaged 4.5.